TimbukTOO Team Room

[damselfly]

All hands on deck! A fit and feisty 15 of 70 members (21%) logged 108,476 total meters Friday!

Milestones achieved:
Bob L whizzed by 400K!!

Approaching milestones:
Adam is very close to 1.3M (-1,403m), Yisroel is screaming towards his first season mill (-9,858m), Dana is closing on 350K (-18,075m), Gary G is working for 200K (-14,474m), Kenny is right behind (-17,000m), Cindy is brewing up 100K (-6,359m), and Scott is one good row from 50K (-1,773m)

Posted Meters:
Yisroel H - 23,097 Woot!
Bob L - 10,025 Back-to-back 10ks!
Jerry H - 10,000 Solid!
Dana H - 8,100 Still climbing...
Cindy R - 8,016 Finding some time!
Adam M - 8,000 Unflappable!
John B - 7,734 Working on his next goal!
Michelle D - 7,500 Sweet!
Gary G - 6,115 Super!
Jodie J - 5,000 Off to a great start!
Ken C - 4,823 Speed?
Kristin C - 3,500 Great!
Kenny H - 3,000 Killer!
Kevin K - 2,000 Two-two-fer!
Scott W - 1,566 One row to 50!

[damselfly]

All hands on deck! A fetching and faithful 14 of 70 members (20%) logged 189,114 total meters Saturday!

Milestones achieved:
Adam mastered 1.3M!!

Approaching milestones:
David is closing on 3.4M (-31,467m), Diane is steaming towards 2.4M (-30,223m), Michelle is looking for a season mill (-48,477m), Jim G is nearing 700K (-25,537m), Jodie is on target for 600K (-36,574m), Gary G is nearing 200K (-11,343m), and Mark S is on the brink of 35K (-1,477m)

This week's frequent rowers (Sat 10/12 through Fri 10/18):
Adam M & Michelle D - 7
Bobbie Z, David W, Gary G, Jerry H & John B - 6
Diane M & Jim G - 5
Greg H, Jim C, Ken C, Scott W & Yisroel H - 4

Posted Meters:
David W - 50,118
Diane M - 30,109 Back on the board!
Jodie J - 23,000 Wow!!
Greg H - 12,410 Back after a well-deserved post-challenge rest!
Michelle D - 12,000 Awesome!
Jerry H - 12,000 Super!
Bob L - 10,019 Has contracted 10k mania!
Adam M - 10,000 A little extra time on his hands!
Andy I - 8,637 Training hard!
John B - 5,625 Easy day or speed day?
Jim G - 5,032 Sweet!
Mark S - 4,013 Back in da boat!
Gary G - 3,131 Four-fer!
Kevin K - 3,020 And four for Kevin too!

[Cikan Vuz]

Wow I can't get over some of the numbers put up.... I am just amazed I was able to break 800k for the challenge, I know when I get my rower at home I will be put up some serious numbers then... : I get some funny looks at the club when I am sitting and sweating my butt off for 2 hours when some come sit down and put in a couple of minutes and get off without very little effort. Oh what they are missing. Once I do get a rower and I feel it will be by then end of this year... I see my 100k row coming.. I feel strong and confident that I can break the 8hrs or less mark. I bought my wife a NordicTrak. We had one for a while and I couldn't get her off it. since she enjoys doing aerobic classes and body pump classes her time on the rower have dropped.... She is disappointed by that but When I sit and row I just don't like doing less then 2 hours unless it intervals and I will do 500m/1 minute rests for the hour that she is in class. Man those are real lung and heart burners. I am just Rambling LOL right now.. I just want to say that I really enjoy this team and all the interaction on the message board and Izz and Lisa taking charge of those....

Thanks Guys... you are champs in my book

Oh not matter how many meters you do.... Do it with great form and you will go far...

David

I hear ya! The looks prompt conversations ( while you are TRYING to workout no less!) about WHY you row so long, then you might get the folk who row the 5 minutes telling you that you are doing it wrong... (cos they are sheep following the no-know-wrongers sayings at the gym) To me, spending the under $950 was worth it, and it will pay itself off in a year or two in gym cost savings. Some 20 years+ ago, I had one of the first Nordic Track cross country skier machines and I had an Italian rower with oars. They were awesome: I Kick myself in the arse for letting em go now...


At home, can row when I want, when I want without the naysayers and other comments.

I LOVE rowing for hours on end, At the gym, I got the "Are you done yet" looks and comments even though the nay-sayers had no plan to use the machine. At home, I have encouragement and solitude. But then, I am a recluse basically ( my neighbors say I am anti-social, I tell them no, I just do not appreciate people with no common sense...) )

anyhow, I am back to just rowing at least 2 hours a day maybe taking a day or two off now then...
I had a spot-light but it is time to let someone else shine as we ALL deserve our moment in the sun, right?

[Izzzmeister]

As a relative newbie to erging I have a question. Are distances and split times on a C2 adjusted based on the damper setting? I have played around a bit with the settings and noticed I feel my arms and legs a bit more after a row when I set the damper higher. That makes sense since there is more drag to pull. What I am wondering is if this translates into more distance on each stroke. So does a stroke with the damper set at 10 get you "virtually" farther than a stroke set on 3?

The short answer is, "YES!"

The long answer: Yes, and that's how people can have better times on the erg than the Olympic times - water has a particular resistance, which in your Performance Monitor's computer is a drag factor of about 110. On a machine that's not too rusted or choked with dust, that's about 4 1/2 on your damper.
The higher the number on your damper, the more open the damper... the more wind gets to the flywheel... the more wind resistance... the faster it goes AND the faster it stops.
Theoretically, if you did one pull at 10 & if you did one pull at 3, the meterage would be about the same BECAUSE the flywheel at 3 wouldn't accelerate as much at the pull, but wouldn't slow down as fast either at the end. But, if you're rowing steadily, you're starting the next pull in the middle of the momentum created by the last stroke. So, the 10 pull wouldn't have much chance to slow down before the next stroke comes. You would then get the power of the 10 stroke without the negative of the later slowdown.
That's why, if people do strokework, let's say 16 or 18 strokes per minute, they're more likely to set the damper low, maybe 4 or 5. If they're doing a normal row at, let's say 30 strokes per minute, they're more likely to set the damper as high as they could maintain without it hurting their back or causing them to stop early.
(Yes, the logarithm used by C2's PM is very well done, which is why every boathouse has C2s & not WaterRowers. Times on the PM correlate better with water times & are very useful to OTW [On The Water] rowers.)

[johnb]

All these meters are starting to pay off, tonight I rowed hard for 45 minutes and posted my best times for everything from 500 meters and every distance in between up to 10K! My times are pedestrian to some I am sure but I shaved 10 seconds off my 2K, and even more off my middle distances. I double checked as I was doing this post. I shaved over a minute off my best 5K time and over 2 minutes off my best 10K.

[Cikan Vuz]

All these meters are starting to pay off, tonight I rowed hard for 45 minutes and posted my best times for everything from 500 meters and every distance in between up to 10K! My times are pedestrian to some I am sure but I shaved 10 seconds off my 2K, and even more off my middle distances. I double checked as I was doing this post. I shaved over a minute off my best 5K time and over 2 minutes off my best 10K.

"LIKE!" Great Job! Keep it up! =])

[Cikan Vuz]

it was really quiet here today and yesterday....


I could hear the echos of my breathing in my ears as I looked for updates...


"It’s sure, I say it’s sure quiet around here, you could hear a caterpillar sneakin’ across a moss bed in tennis shoes”

LOL

Just messin with ya'll "You gotta.. I say, you gotta keep it on your toes! Toes that is!" Foghorn Leghorn.

[johnb]

it was really quiet here today and yesterday....


I could hear the echos of my breathing in my ears as I looked for updates...


"It’s sure, I say it’s sure quiet around here, you could hear a caterpillar sneakin’ across a moss bed in tennis shoes”

LOL

Just messin with ya'll "You gotta.. I say, you gotta keep it on your toes! Toes that is!" Foghorn Leghorn.

Love Foghorn Leghorn!

[Quatroux]

“As senior rooster ’round here, it’s my duty, and my pleasure, to instruct junior roosters in the ancient art of roostery”

[Izzzmeister]

A huge TimbukTOO welcome to new affiliation member J. Kulavis! 15 of 71 members (22%) logged 126,757 total meters Sunday which, with J.K.’s 735,421m, added a total of 862,178 meters!

Milestones achieved: Diane M coasted by 2.4M, YISROEL HIT ONE MILLION, while J. K. topped 700K!!
Approaching milestones: Jim G speeding towards 700K (-20,513m), Jodie J nearing 600K (-29,074m), John B reaching for 500K (-23,091m), Dana H surfing towards 350K (-14,437m), Gary G toughing out 200K (-2,162m) while Ed M (-11,459m) & Kenny H (-14,500m) try to catch him!

Posted Meters:
Diane M - 31,164 Yes, she can choose to stop any time she wants…
Yisroel H - 14,000 Fast 10K!
John B - 10,042 Onward & upward!
Jerry H - 10,000 Snapping up meters!
Gary G - 9,181 Whoa!

Andy I - 8,550 Keeps improving!
Adam M - 8,500 Solid state!
Jodie J - 7,500 Got back on after long, hard row!
Ken C - 5,185 Fourth row in a week!
Jim G - 5,024 Learning the value of rest!

Kristin C - 5,000 Improving fitness!
Dana H - 3,638 Staying focused!
Michelle D - 3,500 Every day!
Ed M - 2,973 Back in business!
Kenny H - 2,500 Steady!

[Izzzmeister]

A sad goodbye to veteran Michelle Donavon & up-and-comer Jodie James! We hope to see you back one day soon!
12 of 69 members (17%) logged 126,976 total meters Monday!

Milestones achieved: Raymond W achieved 75K!!
Approaching milestones: Jim C one fast row from 1.9M (-12,000m), Jim G closing in on 700K (-15,438m), John B chipping away at 500K (-13,029m), Bob L pulling for 450K (-23,314m), Jamie B (-5,128m) barely leading Dana H (-6,237m) in the quest for 350K, while Ed M is approaching 200K (-7,451m)!

Posted Meters:
Diane M - 44,195 Forgot to stop again?!
Jim C - 16,000 Extra fast?
John B - 10,062 Speed improving as fitness improves!
Bob L - 10,000 Fifth row of 10K or more in a week!
Raymond W - 8,543 They’re starting to add up!

Dana H - 8,200 Back to increasing the length of her rows!
J. K - 7,209 Great first TimbukTOO row!
Barbara B - 5,645 Sweet! We were worried there for a second…
Jim G - 5,075 Back to back to back!
Jerry H - 5,000 Shorter, but solid!

Ed M - 4,008 Back to back!
Jamie B - 3,039 Great to see a solid row from you!

[Izzzmeister]

This is one for the movies ...

Thanks to rowing, it's very hard for me to get my heart rate up even when exercising strenuously. (My HR when I awaken is about 43, while I'm walking around, about 53.) And because I won't do any exercise as exercise unless it is enough to make positive adaptations to my system (e.g., no very slow rows just to build up meters or for weight loss, no walking for exercise because I can't get my HR above 100 while walking, etc.), I usually use difficult exercise machines set for fast and/or hard.

I was in the gym Monday night, doing some 'cardio' before my "resistance training" workout. I did 45 minutes on the Arc Trainer at moderately high intensity, which usually will take my heart rate up to 135-142 beats by the end. Because of the higher level of fitness from the extra FTC rowing, it only got me up to 128 by the end of the 45 minutes.
Because I didn't get my heart rate up where I wanted it, and because my new bike is coming in today so I expect a nice, long ride soon, I decided to supplement with 15 minutes on the LifeFitness exercise bike. So I chose the Cardio program. It asked me my age, it then picked 137 as my target heart rate - which I then accepted...
The screen informed me that the bike would keep increasing the resistance until my heart rate reached the target. Sounded good. I started. After a minute it went up a couple notches. My HR passed 100. Another minute, another couple notches. My HR passed 105. A minute later, medium intensity, greeted by 110 on the screen. So far, so good.
A minute later, it got hard to pedal. I saw my cadence slip below 50, but my HR hadn't broken 120 yet. With a target HR of 137, I knew I was in trouble. The next notch up is excruciating, causing my cadence to descend to about 43. I didn't want to exhaust my legs just yet, before I did my Leg Extensions & Leg Presses - but I pressed on. My HR was 122...
Then, it happened. The next level was engaged, and I literally couldn't pedal the thing. If I couldn't pedal, my heart couldn't reach the target. So, I stopped. Machine said "PAUSED" and started flashing. I started pedaling again, it clamped down again, I stopped again. "PAUSED"! I started pedaling again, it clamped down again, I stopped again. "PAUSED"!
Not good. I tried to lower the target heart rate, but it couldn't be done while it was paused. I started again, pressing the Level Down button frantically. Target 134 now, but my heart had gone back to 113 due to stopping. Clamp! Stop! Start and frantically press Level Down. 129, clamp! Stop! Start and press! Brake! Stop! Start, Level Down!
I wish this story had a happy ending. The only happy part is that I've lived to tell the story. But after the screen flashed PAUSED like a theater marquee, and after as much stop-and-go as New York rush hour, I raised the white flag, hit the MANUAL button, and finished my ride at a moderate pace. Alas, my heart rate never did reach 137, after all.

Considering that LifeFitness is a major manufacturer of exercise equipment, and considering how easy it is to add options into software programs, why the heck does the bike not ask you, after a couple of pauses, whether it should adjust the difficulty level down? Just sayin'...

[damselfly]

Izzy, I want your cardio-vascular system!

[Izzzmeister]

Izzy, I want your cardio-vascular system!

Just had my physical last week, the nurse did my ECG ("EKG"). She ran out to the doctor in alarm, to show him my heart rate was at 46. "Only athletes and very sick people have heart rates like that! Which is he?"
She came back in 2 minutes later, saying, "Tell me about your rowing."

I told her and I told her and I told her. Six hours later, she closed the light & tiptoed out, despite the fact that I was almost finished! Yet somehow, she hasn't joined our rowing team yet! (Okay, this last piece may be a bit of an exaggeration.)

[damselfly]

Izzy, I want your cardio-vascular system!

Just had my physical last week, the nurse did my ECG ("EKG"). She ran out to the doctor in alarm, to show him my heart rate was at 46. "Only athletes and very sick people have heart rates like that! Which is he?"
She came back in 2 minutes later, saying, "Tell me about your rowing."

I told her and I told her and I told her. Six hours later, she closed the light & tiptoed out, despite the fact that I was almost finished! Yet somehow, she hasn't joined our rowing team yet! (Okay, this last piece may be a bit of an exaggeration.)

Love it!